Westfield’s plans to turn House of Fraser site into office space approved

Plans to convert two-thirds of Westfield London’s House of Fraser store into a WeWork-style office space has been approved by the local council.

Last night, the planning committee at Hammersmith & Fulham Borough granted permission for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield’s proposals to redevelop the 104,000sq ft House of Fraser site into 68,000sq ft of flexible office space and 32,000sq ft of retail space across two units.

No immediate changes have been announced for the House of Fraser store, which only recently reopened amid the easing of lockdown restrictions on non-essential retail.

It is also not yet clear if Westfield would line up an operator to run the office space or if it would consider running the operation itself.

Last month, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield told property trade publication Estates Gazette that the move is part of a wider strategy to provide more mixed-use experiences.

Another anchor within Westfield London, Debenhams did not reopen after lockdown as part of an administration process, after Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield declined to give it another round of rent reductions.

That site has since been converted into a temporary Harrods outlet store.

The other anchor retailers, such as Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and Next, within the centre remain unchanged.

Retail Gazette has contacted both Unibail-Radamco-Westfield and House of Fraser parent company Frasers Group for comment.

source: Retail Gazette